Replaceable traffic barrier gate

ABSTRACT

A traffic barrier gate, adapted to be selectively raised from or lowered to a barrier position, wherein a wooden barrier arm is inserted into the mouth of a fitting provided with a jaw which may be manually opened to permit an end portion of the barrier arm to be moved into or out of the fitting mouth, or closed to retain the arm end portion firmly within the fitting. The device makes it possible to easily remove the stub of the arm from the fitting whenever the arm is broken off, and to quickly reinsert and lock into place an end of the remaining or a new arm.

United States Patent Sakamoto et al.

[ Aug. 29, 1972 [54] REPLA CEABLE TRAFFIC BARRIE GATE [72] Inventors: Wayne Y. Sakamoto, 17175 San Jose St., Granada Hills, Calif. 91344; Stephen Roger Westphal, 1011 E. Linden, Glendale, Calif. 91201; Franklin I. Fletcher, 11960 Woodley Ave., Granada Hills, Calif. 91344 [73] Assignee: Gabyanne Corporation, San Francisco,Calif.

22 Filed: March 19, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 21,109

[52] US. Cl. ..49/l4l, 49/49, 49/381 [51] Int. Cl ..E05c 15/02 [58] Field of Search ..49/49, 334, 35, 124, 141, 59, 49/58, 239; 287/96, 118; 29/413, 432;

248/316 R, 360, 226 D, 226 R; 52/98, 99;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,886,435 ll/l932 Vincent ..49/334 X 2,562,021 7/1951 Dotten ..49/239 X 3,016,225 1/1962 Hughes et al. ..248/1 22 X y 3,092,363 6/1963 McCracken ..248/3 1 6 R McDonaldet al ..49/l41 928,367 7/ 1909 DeWitt ..287/118 X 1,103,749 7/ 1914 Finkelstein ..287/118 X 1,414,756 5/1922 Starck v. ..287/65 X 1,555,847 10/1925 Hudson ..287/118 UX 1,628,651 5/ 1927 Burress ..49/49 X 1,749,637 3/1930 Kingston ..287/118 X 1,863,247 6/1932 Kingston et al ..287/l18 2,137,193 11/1938 Stafford ..'......49/49 X 2,170,192 8/ 1939 Gersbach et a1 ..49/ 42 3,318,045 5/1967 Lambertson ..49/42 Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor Att0meyDonovan J. DeWitt and Gregg & Hendricson [57] ABSTRACT A traffic barrier gate, adapted to be selectively raised from or lowered to a barrier position, wherein a wooden barrier arm is inserted into the mouth of a fitting provided with a jaw which may be manually opened to permit an end portion of the barrier arm to be moved into or out'of the fitting mouth, or closed to retain the arm end portion firmly within the fitting. The device makes it possible to easily remove the stub of the arm from the fitting whenever the arm is broken off, and to quickly reinsert and look into place an end of the remaining or a new arm.

7 C1aims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 REPLACEABLE TRAFFIC BARRIER GATE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the customary barrier gate devices such as that faced by motorists entering or leaving a parking lot, a wooden barrier arm is raised when the device is actuated to permit passage of a vehicle and then returned to the closed position. This arm is supported by a fitting which is given a quarter turn in one direction or another to open or close the gate. As frequently happens, the motor vehicle hits the wooden barrier arm when the gate is in a partially or fully closed position, thereby snapping off the arm from said fitting. The nature of the bolt assembly or other attachment means employed in presently available structures to secure the wooden arm to said fitting is such that removal of the barrier arm stub and attachment of another arm is a tedious and time consuming procedure. Moreover,

drills and otherspecial tools which the attendant may not have readily available, are required. This results in loss of revenue as cars enter and leave the lot without paying the appropriate fees.

It is an object of this invention to provide a traffic gate structure incorporating a wooden barrier arm wherein an end of said arm can readily be detached from or mounted toa supporting fitting and locked into place, all without the use of tools or the like. A further object is to provide a structure of the foregoing character which transversely scores the barrier arm adjacent its point of attachment to the fitting, thus enabling the arm to break off cleanly when struck by a vehicle. A still further object of the invention is to provide a gate structure in which the fitting supporting the arm is self-pulling from a driven axle about which a collar carried by the fitting can be emplaced to effect opening and closing of the gate as the axle is rotated in one direction or the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been found that the foregoing and other objects of the invention can be achieved by the provision of a novel fitting adapted to be secured to oneend of a wooden barrier arm and to raise and lower the same to effect opening and closing of the gate, said fitting comprising a shallow box-like frame member, open at an end thereof to provide a mouth into which an end portion of the barrier arm is inserted, together with a jaw which engages the inserted arm, and manually operable jaw activation means by which the jaw may be opened to permit removal or insertion of the arm end section and then closed to secure the inserted arm section firmly into place within the fitting.

In one embodiment of the invention the jaw constitutes a movable plate which is inserted into the fitting frame in a position paralleling the top and bottom thereof, this plate being either loosely inserted or maintained within the frame in a floating position by the use of pins which extend between the top and bottom of the frame at a position well removed from the end into which the arm is inserted. The frontal area between the plate and one of the wider frame portions (hereinafter, for convenience, called the botton of the frame) constitutes the mouth of the fitting into which an end portion of the barrier arm is inserted in parallel alignment with the said plate and frame bottom.

Preferably the opposed frame bottom adjacent'the fitting mouth are provided with inwardly extending teeth which effect a limited penetration of the inserted wooden barrier arm as the jaw is closed. This has the effect of transversely scoring the arm and causes it to break cleanly along this line on being given a severe blow, thereby providing an outer arm fragment, which is free of long splinters and is adapted to be reinserted into the fitting and secured therein. The teeth also have the effect of greatly increasing the force needed to manually draw the arm fromthe fitting when the jaw remains in the closed position.

The manually operable jaw activation means can take any one of several forms. Thus, in one embodiment, a screw is threaded through the top of the frame for contact with the plate. Advancing the screw inwardly, as by turning acrank arm pivotally attached to the head of the screw, causes the inserted end of the wooden barrier arm to be tightly compressed between the plate and the frame bottom, thus closing the jaw. Conversely, threading the screw outwardly has the effect of opening the jaw and permitting the wooden member to be withdrawn from the fitting. In another embodiment, said screw means can be replaced by a cam having a surface which tightly bears against the plate as an arm attached to the cam, and pivotally mounted within an opening provided in the top of the fitting frame, is pressed into a position parallel with the top of the frame. With a cam of this character it is possible to omit the plate member altogether when the cam surface is sufficiently large so as to get a good purchase against the inserted barrier arm. In this embodiment, the cam acts as the jaw of the fitting.

Whatever the nature of the jaw actuating means employed, the handle thereof can be adapted to be locked into place, using a padlock or the like, when the jaw is in a closed position, thereby preventing unauthorized persons from opening the jaw and removing the barrier arm.

The outer surface of the frame bottom is normally adapted to engage a driven shaft of the gate structure which turns in one direction or another so as to raise or lower the gate. This can be accomplished by mounting to said surface a collar which slips over the shaft and is secured by a shear pin. To facilitate removal of the collar from the shaft when the pin has been broken or removed, said collar can be aligned with the screw described above for actuating the jaw, and the frame bottom can be relieved so as to permit the leading end of the screw, after removal of the jaw plate, to engage the end of the shaft and, with further turning of the screw, pull the collar from the shaft.

Other objects, advantages and features of the inven tion will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a traffic gate embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, to an enlarged scale, taken through the plane 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing the mouth of the fitting with the wooden barrier arm therein;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, to an enlarged scale, taken through the plane 33 of FIG. 1 and showing a removable plate constituting the jaw of the fitting and a screw for manually tightening the jaw;

margins of the plate and the FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken through the plane 44 of FIG. 3 and showing the handle for tightening the screw;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, similar to that of FIG. 3, showing another embodiment of the invention wherein the screw is offset with respect to the shaft which opens and closes the gate;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, similar to that of FIG. 3, of still another embodiment of the invention wherein the jaw plate is not removable and is tightened by.a cam member;

FIG. 7 is an end elevational view, with the barrier arm removed, taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is afragmentary sectional view, similar to that of FIG. 6, of another embodiment of the invention wherein a serrated cam member constitutes a jaw which tightens directly against the barrier arm.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a traffic island having a platform 10 and a supporting column 11 which serves to contain a motor or other gate operating mechanism (not shown) which turns a shaft 12 (shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5) in one direction or another to open or close the gate. A fitting generally indicated at 15 releasably engages about an end portion of a wooden barrier arm 16, said fitting being secured to shaft 12 by means of a collar 17 which is welded to an outer face of the fitting and slips over shaft 12 to be secured by a shear pin 18, as seen in FIG. 3.

The barrier arm-receiving fitting 15 incorporates a frame having the shape of an open-ended shallow box with a relatively wide top, or front portion 20, a bottom, or back member 21 and relatively narrow connecting sides 22. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fitting is provided with a removable jaw plate 25, while in that of FIGS. 5-7, there is shown a fitting having a floating jaw plate 25 which rides along pin members 26. The plates 25 and 25' parallel the top and bottom frame members 20 and 21, and the space between bottom 20 and one or the other of said plates constitutes a mouth into which is fitted one end of the barrier arm 16.

The inner margin of bottom 20 adjacent the mouth is provided with inwardly directed teeth 27 which oppose similar teeth 28 carried by the jaw plates 25, 25'. Once the barrier arm is seated within the fitting, the arm is secured in place by manually closing the said plates against the arm and pressing it tightly against the adjacent inner surface of bottom 21. This has the effect of sinking teeth 27 and 28 into the arm and thus of transversely scoring the same to provide a weakened breakline. Such tightening of the jaw plates 25, 25' can be effected by means of a screw device as shown in FIGS. 2-5, or by a cam member such as those shown in FIGS. 6-8, it being noted that the cam of FIG. 8 combines the functions of a jaw and a jaw-actuation means. Conversely, loosening of these several screw and cam members releases the jaw and permits the barrier arm to be withdrawn out of the mouth of the fitting 15.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-5, there is shown a screw 30 which is threaded through a nut 31 which is set within top 20 of fitting 15. Tightening of the screw 30 against the jaw plate can be manually effected by turning a crank arm 33 having a transversely mounted handle 34 at its outer end and at its inner end a yoke 35 which is pivotally mounted about a pin 36 carried transversely at the top of screw 30. The mounting is such that the arm 34 can be thrown over the screw 30 so as to bring one end or the other of handle 34 in contact with top 20 at a position adjacent a lug 40 carried on said top. The respective handle ends are perforated, as is the lug, thus permitting a padlock or other locking means 41 to be fitting through the lug and arm handle to lock the jaw in a closed position. The screw 30 is aligned with shaft 12 in this embodiment, and bottom 21 is relieved at 42 (FIG. 3). Accordingly, when collar 17 is to be pulled from the shaft, one can merely loosen the jaw and remove the barrier arm 16 and plate 25. With pin 18 then either removed or shorn, a tightening of screw 30 causes the end thereof to engage the end of shaft 12 and pull the fitting 15 away from the shaft. However, the screw 30 need not be aligned with the shaft, and an offset structure is shown in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, screw 30 is replaced by a cam device having a cam head and an arm 51 This device is pivotally mounted about a pin 52 carried between upstanding lugs 54 which project from top 20 alongside an opening 55 provided therein to permit the cam head 50 to open and close against plate 25 as arm 51 is manually raised or lowered. In its lowered, or locked position, an aperture 56 in handle '51 fits over the lug 40 andpermits the lock 41 to be snapped into place through the lug opening, thereby securing the cam in a locking position as shown in he figures.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 8, the cam head 50 is provided with transverse serrations, or teeth 60 which bite into arm 16 as the cam arm 51 is lowered. Here a jaw plate is not employed and the serrated face of the cam acts as a jaw which closes against the inserted barrier arm as the arm 51 is manually activated.

In operation, the present structure permits of ready insertion or removal of the wooden barrier arm 16 by themanual opening and closing of the screw or cam means employed to close the jaw of the device. Should the arm be struck by a vehicle it will snap off cleanly, without splintering, along the transverse score line provided by teeth 27 and 28. When this occurs, the arm stub remaining in fixture 15 can be removed (after first opening lock 41, if such be employed) and the end of the remaining portion of the arm or a new arm can then quickly be reinserted with the fitting and locked into place therein, all without the use of any hand or power tools.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to particular preferred embodiments thereof, it is not intended to limit the invention to details of description and illustration. Reference is made to the appended claims for a precise definition of the invention.

We claim:

1. A traffic barrier gate fitting adapted to secure and end portion of a wooden barrier arm and to raise and lower the same to effect opening and closing of the gate, said fitting comprising,

a hollow frame having an open end serving as a mouth through which to receive an end portion of the barrier arm,

a jaw within said frame taking the form of a plate and so positioned, on being closed, as to engage a surface of the arm portion as the same is inserted into the frame mouth between the jaw means and a wall of the frame, and

manually operable jaw actuation means whereby said jaw can be selectively closed against the arm portion to lock the same firmly into position between the jaw and a wall of the frame, or opened to release said arm portion.

2. A fitting as recited in claim 1 wherein the frame has the shape of a shallow, open-ended box having relatively wide top and bottom portions and narrow sides, and wherein the jaw comprises a movable plate which is aligned with the said top and bottom frame portions.

3. A fitting as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one of the opposed margins of the jaw plate and the frame adjacent the fitting mouth is shaped to transversely score any inserted barrier arm as the plate is closed against the same.

4. A fitting as recited in claim 2 wherein the jaw actuation means comprises a screw which is threadably inserted through the fitting frame to engage with the screw point a surface of the plate, said screw being provided with a crank arm at its head portion to facilitate manual turning of the screw.

5. A fitting as recited in claim 2 wherein the jaw actuation means comprises an arm which extends outwardly of the fitting and is pivotally mounted adjacent its lower end within an opening in the frame, and which is provided at its lower end with a cam positioned to engage the surface of the plate.

6. A fitting as recited in claim 4 wherein the screw is threadably inserted through the top of the fitting frame, wherein the plate is removable, wherein the bottom of the frame is provided on its undezrsurface with a collar which is aligned with the screw, and wherein the bottom is relieved to permit the screw point to pass through the collar as the screw is downwardly threaded.

7. A fitting as recited in claim 44 wherein the screw is threadably inserted through the top of the fitting frame and wherein the crank arm is adapted to be locked adjacent its outer extremity to a lug carried on the upper surface of said top to prevent turning of the screw. 

1. A traffic barrier gate fitting adapted to secure an end portion of a wooden barrier arm and to raise and lower the same to effect opening and closing of the gate, said fitting comprising, a hollow frame having an open end serving as a mouth through which to receive an end portion of the barrier arm, a jaw within said frame taking the form of a plate and so positioned, on being closed, as to engage a surface of the arm portion as the same is inserted into the frame mouth between the jaw means and a wall of the frame, and manually operable jaw actuation means whereby said jaw can be selectively closed against the arm portion to lock the same firmly into position between the jaw and a wall of the frame, or opened to release said arm portion.
 2. A fitting as recited in claim 1 wherein the frame has the shape of a shallow, open-ended box having relatively wide top and bottom portions and narrow sides, and wherein the jaw comprises a movable plate which is aligned with the said top and bottom frame portions.
 3. A fitting as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one of the opposed margins of the jaw plate and the frame adjacent the fitting mouth is shaped to transversely score any inserted barrier arm as the plate is closed against the same.
 4. A fitting as recited in claim 2 wherein the jaw actuation means comprises a screw which is threadably inserted through the Fitting frame to engage with the screw point a surface of the plate, said screw being provided with a crank arm at its head portion to facilitate manual turning of the screw.
 5. A fitting as recited in claim 2 wherein the jaw actuation means comprises an arm which extends outwardly of the fitting and is pivotally mounted adjacent its lower end within an opening in the frame, and which is provided at its lower end with a cam positioned to engage the surface of the plate.
 6. A fitting as recited in claim 4 wherein the screw is threadably inserted through the top of the fitting frame, wherein the plate is removable, wherein the bottom of the frame is provided on its undersurface with a collar which is aligned with the screw, and wherein the bottom is relieved to permit the screw point to pass through the collar as the screw is downwardly threaded.
 7. A fitting as recited in claim 4 wherein the screw is threadably inserted through the top of the fitting frame and wherein the crank arm is adapted to be locked adjacent its outer extremity to a lug carried on the upper surface of said top to prevent turning of the screw. 